Acts 18.18-22, Ecclesiastes 5.1-7; Matthew 5.33-37 for a support scriptures
I would like to talk to you about a couple. Fred and Jenn had been married for about 3 years. Fred loves Jenn’s cooking, especially her beef roast. One day, Fred noticed that Jenn did something peculiar. She cut the end off of the roast she put it in two trays into the oven. Being that this seemed odd to Fred, he asked her why she did it, why did she cut the end off of the roast? Did it aid in the cooking?
Jenn replied that she wasn’t sure. Growing up, her mom taught her how to cook, and when it came to the roast, mom always cut end off and put them into two trays. So now Jenn was curious as to why she cut her roast in half. She called her mom.
Mom answered with the same reasoning. She was always taught that the end had to be cut off before cooking. But as far as mom could tell, it didn’t seem to aid the cooking or the flavor. If anything, the meat was a bit dryer. Jenn was encouraged to call grandma since she wanted to know.
Grandma answered the question saying, “I am not sure why you and your mother cut the ends off the roast anymore. I had to cut the ends off so that it would fit into my tiny oven.”
So the pressing question is what does this story have to do with making a vow as a Christian? The answer is simple, it’s not. The story grabbed your attention, but in context, it is out of context. Just as we pick up with the journey, or perhaps conclusion of Paul’s second missionary journey, we all of a sudden see that he is also concluding a vow he had made, a vow that Dr. Luke didn’t mention having been made in the first place.
Here is what we do know about this event, that perhaps going into Corinth, he made a vow to the Lord for protection from his enemies, a vow that the Lord affirmed in a dream. Then the arrest came, and Paul was brought before the magistrate. There the case was thrown out. It didn’t affect the Pax Romana, or the peace of Rome. It was therefore a non-issue, and the Jews were given a message that allowed Paul to remain there for a year and a half. It is when he leaves Corinth, before embarking on the boat, he shaves his head, a response of thanksgiving to the Lord for His mercy and protection.
Vows are one of two spiritual disciplines that we see talked about in the Law of Moses, yet they are not commanded to be done. Did you know that? Nowhere does the Lord require that we fast, though there were specific times that the people were commanded to fast and pray. But there is no general day of fasting.
There are no general guides either about needing to make a vow to the Lord, yet we do. Looking at the Old Testament, Numbers 18.18, we see that when a vow is made for a specific period of time, at the conclusion, the person shaves his, or her, head. Then depending on the vow, the sheared hair would be placed under the Fellowship Offering that the person giving thanks would offer at the Temple. But that’s typical of the Nazarite vow. Yet when vows are made, they are binding. If a child makes such a vow, then father can overrule them, but if he fails, that vow is binding.
Now the type of vow that Paul offered isn’t know. I can speculate. But since we see a Christian man fulfill his vow in a way that is in keeping with the system he is use to, and we see it again a few chapters later, which will likely fall on my Sunday again, let us talk about making vows. Let’s look at some examples of vows and draw a lesson from them.
Such as the first thing that we need to consider is Jephthah, the judge of Israel in Judges 12. He was to face some fierce enemies, but he vowed to the Lord that whatever greeted him as he came home unharmed, that he would offer to the Lord. I often wonder if he was used to coming home and being greeted by the dog, or perhaps even better, the pet cat. No, perhaps it was more insidious than that, that he thought his wife would greet him, as usual. But it threw him when the door flies open and it’s not the family pet or the wife, but his precious little girl. My question is that during the two months that he allowed his daughter and her friends to mourn the ending of her life, why he didn’t consult with the Lord about redeeming his precious daughter? But he kept his vow, even though it was foolishly made.
Then there are the vows of moms who aren’t. Hannah is my favorite one who makes a vow. It reminds us that the vows are made to our God. They aren’t always the easiest to make, either. Lord, if you grant me a single son, I will dedicate him to your service. That was the vow. When the boy was weened, no longer needing momma to change or feed him, she brought him to Eli the high priest, to serve before the Lord’s tabernacle. From there, the Lord blessed her. Can you though imagine giving a child away? But it really wasn’t giving him away because she did visit him during the required trips to the tabernacle to make their offerings.
Yet what happens when a vow is broken? One king made such a vow. He would serve the Lord as he lead the Lord’s nation. Yet twice he failed. Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, but in 1 Samuel 12, he and the troops were to wait for Samuel to arrive to make the burnt offering. But Saul feared people more than he feared God, so he acted not only as king, but as priest. Samuel said that had he been more patient, his family would have remained on the throne. Then in chapter 15, the Lord to Saul to destroy all that has life in the land of the Amalekites. Instead, they kept the best livestock and King Agag. It was here that the Lord sent word through Samuel, that the kingdom will be torn from Saul’s hand.
When Saul stopped following the Lord, seeking his guidance, he started becoming wise in his own eyes. He thought that he caught the spirit of the Lord’s meaning. He mostly obeyed, but a little rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, and idolatry. He thought by sacrificing, he would please God, but reality is that he wasn’t thinking about God but how he looked to the people. He placed the nation as a god before the Lord Almighty. He paid a great price for it.
Let me recap really quickly: vows to the Lord is a spiritual discipline that transcends the covenants. I could look at Abraham and the vow he made. Vows are not something to do flippantly, carelessly. Vows kept will be blessed when you make them for the right reason. Yes, wanting a child could be seen as being selfish, but then how big a heart it took to give him back to the Lord. In her life, she sought to glorify the Lord. And Samuel served the Lord faithfully as the last judge of Israel, and then anointed two kings. But when we do not live according to the vows we make, then we can see how quickly messy life can become.
What about the vows that we make today? Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5, we should not swear, make an oath, by the temple, nor by its gold. Even swearing by one’s hair isn’t proper since we have no control. Instead, Jesus taught us that our yes should be yes, and our no, no. There was a time that Herb tells when he sold a car on a simple handshake. After filling out a bill of sale, the new owner drove off. Now car contracts, once the bank is located, takes 45 minutes of signing. Contracts are not so simple, seeking to head off any loophole the buyer might use to cheat.
But let’s return to point. There are a couple of vows that we’ve taken, that are commonplace in our culture. The first vow has to do with marriage. Two vow before God that they will live their lives together, and live right before God until death separates the couple. And though I bind the vow until death, how many of us can point to a divorce that has caused life to become messy? I can’t tell you how many times a couple has sat in my office and declared, “We were just too young when we got married.” Or there is this, “It’s better that we split than to fight in front of the kids.”
Then there is another vow that we have all taken, well most of us I will presume in this room have taken. That is the vow that we made when we submitted our lives to Christ. This is the most important vow we will ever make. In 2 Thessalonians 1.10ff, we have looked at living a life worthy of Christ’s call on our lives. Paul repeats it slightly different in Ephesians 5 where he encourages us to live our lives worthy of the grace we have received.
When we make a vow, be it rashly, be it fully thought through, it changes, it affects how we live our lives. Do we desire to live for Christ but cling to that in which we know is wrong? I follow Christ, but as an accountant, I love cooking the books. I follow Christ, but I still love to spread gossip. I love Christ, but I hate my new neighbors from across the world.
Now as I replay my outline and my words, I don’t want to unnecessarily beat you up over it. Life is messy. I made a vow to buy a vehicle for work that didn’t last. I knew that the likelihood of the bank taking it back was high, but I wanted to keep my vow so I sold my prized bronco to delay the inevitable. I made a foolish vow compounded by another. It’s a mess.
But that’s the grace of God for us. Life is messy, and most of the time, it’s a mess from our own doing. But today is a new day in Christ. If you can mend vows that you made in the past, great. You should. If you can’t, then press on. Fix your eyes upon Jesus, through whose offering God declares us right, gives us a second chance. I want to encourage you to let that same grace overflow through you so that you are vessels of God’s grace to a world that sorely needs a light spot in this present darkness.
Now for those who haven’t made a vow, haven’t surrendered to Christ, and accepted his forgiveness, I want you to know that though following Christ will not make your life easier, Christ came to die because though we are sinful, God desires us to be in His presence. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. God wants to know you. So this moment, take that step, make a vow before the Lord to accept him as king and savior.
